Trumps floats sending the law to polls, but lacks the power

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is threatening to send law enforcement to polling places for the upcoming presidential election, part of a growing pattern of rhetoric in which he has suggested that he wants to make it harder for Americans to vote.

And much like the idea he floated a few weeks ago about delaying the election entirely, it's not exactly up to him. The effort also could be viewed as a means to intimidate minority voters, who tend to support Democrats.

During an interview Thursday night with Fox News host Sean Hannity as part of the counter-programming for the Democratic National Convention, Trump suggested he'd bring in both federal and local law enforcement. The president has repeatedly asserted, without evidence, that there will be widespread voter fraud this November, just as he falsely claimed four years ago after he lost the popular vote.

“We’re going to have everything," he said. "We’re going to have sheriffs, and we’re going to have law enforcement, and we’re going to hopefully have U.S. attorneys and we’re going to have everybody, and attorney generals. But it’s very hard.”

But federal law prohibits sending “any troops or armed men” to any polling place in the country, and any effort to send them is a criminal offense punishable by up to five years in prison. One caveat: Troops can be sent in “to repel armed enemies of the United States” during voting. The law would also bar the president from sending in nonmilitary law enforcement if they are armed. Most marshals and FBI agents usually are.

The Justice Department routinely conducts monitoring of polling places on Election Day with both federal observers, who are generally allowed inside polling places without written permission, as well as prosecutors and some FBI agents to ensure compliance with federal...